"Down Among The Dead Men vocalist Dave Ingram has the death metal pedigree of a standard poodle with the roar of a rabid pit bull, widely known for his work with Benediction and a brief yet destructive stint in Bolt Thrower for 2002's excellent Honour – Valour – Pride. Take one rabid poodle and add some Rogga.[Give in to your anger...]

"Some of these things "we miss" during the year are understandably obscure and I don't lose much sleep worrying about the overall health of my Metal Detector. Sometimes however, we whiff on a biggie and are left wondering if our collective ear to the metal underground needs a hearing aid (of steel). This is one of those whiffs. That's because Avatarium is the new project of none other than Leif Fucking Edling (Candlemass, Krux, Abstract Algebra, etc.) and since the man is one of the modern-day Lords of Doom, we clearly should have seen this coming sooner." Oops is all we can say on this one. The classy thing to do is forgive and move on.[Give in to your anger...]

Raucous, aggressive doom metal with female vocals? Sure, why the hell not. Joining such similar female fronted acts as Jex Thoth and Blood Ceremony, San Francisco's power trio Castle have arrived to carve out their own slice of the retro doom pie (which is pumpkin in case you were wondering). Their debut In Witch Order is a surprisingly refreshing platter that harkins back to the glory days of Witchfinder General and Trouble with just a pinch of Cathedral tossed in like an eye of newt. That last ingredient may be the most important and unlike the others in this niche genre, Castle brings down the witch hammer hard with slashing, bruising riffs and a go-for-the-jugular approach that almost seems untoward for a doom troupe. All I can say is, it works well and makes In Witch Order another happy surprise in a year full of them.[Give in to your anger...]